In 2001, journalist Robert McCrum dubbed Rory Bremner the new 'leader of the
opposition' on the British political scene. His collaboration with John Bird and
John Fortune, Rory Bremner - Who Else? (C4, 1993-98), had cemented this
reputation in its blurring of the gap between current affairs programming and
comedy. Bremner, Bird & Fortune, its direct successor, has survived long
enough to find renewed support at Channel 4, develop a powerful voice of dissent
towards New Labour and engage with a whole new generation of viewers.

Whereas the list of contributors remained much the same, the change of title
marked a promotion for 'The Two Johns'. The pair provided a link back to an
earlier satirical generation, having delivered similar material at Peter Cook's
Establishment Club in the 1960s as well as on BBC-3 (BBC, 1965-66). Even
Bremner's detractors tend to have a fondness for their traditional weekly
grilling of political worm George Parr.

Unusually, the creative team behind Bremner, Bird & Fortune do not talk
of 'sketches' but 'stories', and hold to a steadfast refusal to sweeten complex
issues. Bremner and his producer Geoff Atkinson regularly consult a wide variety
of insiders, inviting MPs, advisors and journalists to define how various
political activities connect together. Only by making sense of things, Bremner
argues, can they make nonsense of them - often cruelly so - in monologues and
conversational sketches.

Following a respite in 2000 - Bremner toured, making only three specials for
Channel 4 - the series returned with a new sense of purpose. George W. Bush was
now US president, and with a looming general election in the UK, series two left
a bitter taste, caustic enough for its star to be banned from the Labour battle
bus. A series of unsettling 'hidden camera' conversations between Tony Blair
(Bremner) and Alastair Campbell (Andrew Dunn) were introduced, airing without a
studio audience. Such elements became fixtures, as did dinner party
conversations between Bird, Fortune and their fictional wives, played by Pauline
McLynn and Frances Barber.

A strength of feeling against the war in Iraq has brought a new audience, and
viewing figures have remained strong. As Bird explained in 2005, "people no
longer see politics as something that simply happens to them." The team's
reaction has been to take a more serious and purely journalistic tone in a run
of Iraq-themed specials, as well as their best-selling 2004 book You Are
Here.